Party Food

The Best Crockpot Mac and Cheese (Easy Recipe)

Easy, cheesy and delicious — this homemade crock pot mac and cheese comes together beautifully in your slow cooker! This is no ordinary crock pot mac and cheese recipe because it’s extra creamy and full of flavor thanks to an amazing combo of milk, seasonings, plus cheddar and parmesan cheese.

Crock pot mac n cheese is a timeless and tasty dish that everyone will enjoy after a long and busy day. Our super special crock pot mac and cheese recipe wins the hearts (and stomachs) of everyone who tries it – the secret is in the cheese sauce!

Crockpot Mac and Cheese

Our whole family loves cheese and of course pasta, who doesn’t?As a busy mama, I love easy meals that are still delicious and healthy. If you’re looking for a new meal idea in your crockpot, you’ll want to try this for sure.

It’s also a great option for serving a crowd. Crock pot mac and cheese is one of the easiest things to make in big portions and keep it warm in the slow cooker — that makes it perfect for a lot of guests. Try this easy, cheesy dinner soon! (If you love slow cooker recipes, make sure you check out my crockpot chili as well.)

This super fast crock pot mac n cheese is easy to make, and using a slow cooker takes it from bland and boring to extra-creamy and mouthwatering.

Warning: Once you try this you may never want to eat the plain boxed version of mac and cheese again! 🙂

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese Ingredients

1 16- ounce box of elbow macaroni

4 cups of whole milk

1 8- ounce block of extra-sharp yellow cheddar cheese shredded

8-10 ounces of extra-sharp white cheddar cheese shredded

½ cup of grated parmesan

4- ounces of room-temp cream cheese (like Velveeta)

8- ounces of container sour cream

1 ½ teaspoons of sea salt

½ teaspoon of white pepper

1 teaspoon of ground mustard

How to Make Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Not only is the flavor of this recipe amazing, it’s so easy to make. Perfect for busy days!

To begin, you’ll fill a large pot half way up with water and bring to a boil.

Once the water has started to boil, pour in a little bit of olive oil and the box of macaroni. Cook the macaroni for 2-3 minutes and then drain.

Why add olive oil? It helps to keep the pasta from sticking together. It’s such a brilliant cooking hack. You can use it anytime you make pasta.

Next up, add the macaroni to a slow cooker. Then add the milk, shredded cheddar cheeses, parmesan, and seasonings.

Turn the slow cooker on low and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Cut the cream cheese into small, one-inch cubes.

Stir in the cream cheese and the sour cream until the cream cheese starts to melt.

Look at all that ooey gooey, creamy, cheesy yummyness! It’s a feast for the eyes.

Cook on low for an additional 20-30 minutes until it’s hot and creamy.

Serve it as it comes or with bacon on top.

My boys liked adding some extra salt and pepper of course. My oldest also loves parmesan cheese and shakes it liberally over the top of his mac and cheese as well.

What to Serve with Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Crock pot mac and cheese is so versatile. Although we say to serve this recipe with bacon on top, the things you could serve with this delicious crock pot mac and cheese recipe is endless! Plain ol’ macaroni and cheese is very kid friendly, but what else could you pair with this creamy, cheesy bowl of goodness?

If you want to sneak in some hidden veggies, broccoli and cauliflower will go pretty much undetected by your children. When they’re smothered in cheese, who can tell the difference? If you can get away with visible veggies, peas, corn and bell peppers add a nice bit of crunch to this soft pasta dish.

Serve your quick crock pot mac and cheese with ham, chicken or beef for some protein. If you like something that’s a little bit spicy, buffalo chicken and chili make a great contract to the creamy cheese.

My top rated way to dish up mac n cheese has to be what I like to call, “Adult Mac n Cheese”. This is mac n cheese loaded with crab or lobster with extra cheese on top. Talk about simple and tasty homemade meals!

Alternatively, you could make this crock pot mac and cheese recipe with another type of pasta or even noodles for a bit of a twist. And if you don’t have a family of bacon lovers like me, sprinkle the mac and cheese with bread crumbs so you still get a bit of crunch.

How Long to Cook Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Making this no boil crock pot mac and cheese recipe couldn’t be much easier (or quicker!). Simply boil the macaroni in a pan for just a couple of minutes, then drain. Add the macaroni to the slow cooker with milk… Then add seasonings, plus cheddar and parmesan cheese and give it a good stir.

Go put your feet up and read a book while you let the crock pot mac and cheese do its thing for about an hour. All you’ll have to do is stir it occasionally. Lasly, add the cream cheese cubes and sour cream and let it cook for another 20-30 minutes.

By this point, you’ll hardly be able to wait to taste your homemade crock pot mac n cheese, so dig in. Enjoy the velvety richness.

From start to finish, making your very own crock pot mac and cheese from scratch should take no more than two hours. For the majority of that time, you don’t have to do a thing… Apart from smell the delicious cheesy aroma.

It’s so easy to turn a classic mac and cheese into something that the whole family will want to eat time and time again.

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Stephanie is in love with a boy named Sam. He has taught her that it's okay to jump first and look later, to wear a dirty shirt to the park and to decide that today is a good day to take a nap in your rubber boots. She hangs out here blogging at Spaceships and Laser Beams and at our printable party shop on Etsy.

15 Comments

Quite literally JUST made this (as in within the past hour), it’s the best macaroni and cheese I have ever had! My munchkin sat with me in the kitchen while it cooked, and every time we stirred it, we snuck a itty bitty scoop of cheese! M’mm!

My name is Stephanie

And, thanks to my adorable son, I am celebrating a life filled with boyish charm. Join me and my best boy-mom friends as we share fun recipe and party ideas, games, cool crafts, DIYs and more.

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